10 Awesome Life Hacks

Here are ten quick tips that, if implemented, will immediately help you become more effective, efficient, and energetic. These are game changing things that will each amp up your performance by a huge, noticeable amount.

Note: I quantified how awesome each principle is by a percentage amount. I did not do a formal study on these - I'm just giving a "what it feels like" type of number.

​Note 2: The information contained on this page is my opinion and should not be taken as legal or medical advice. Always consult a certified doctor or lawyer before making changes to your life.

1. Ask, "What's great about this?" - 30% Performance Boost

I'm a huge fan of Tony Robbins, and whether you hate him or love him, I think everyone can benefit from his suggestion that you always ask, "What's great about this?" whenever a problem arises. In most cases, if you're angry, you'll be tempted to say, "Nothing!" But if you can change your mood and then work to find the value in the problem, you'll learn something new or change your behavior as a result, which will lead to breaking through plateaus.

My belief is that problems are just walls that needs to be broken down in order to reach the next level of life. Therefore, don't look at them as problems, but as opportunities to make your life even better.

Studies have shown that cold showers increase blood circulation, energize the body, and make the immune system stronger. But who wants to make their entire shower freezing? I usually take a normal, hot shower and at the end, I'll get mentally prepared and then suddenly make the water really cold and stand under it for about 20-30 seconds.

I've noticed that on the days I don't do this, I feel more tired and sluggish, but when I do do it, it wakes me up and I feel refreshed and energized throughout the whole day. Do it and your energy levels will shoot up!

This one is HUGE. Intermittent fasting has been shown to increase health, strengthen the immune system, and increase energy (after just the first few days of doing it). On top of that, it can help you lose excess pounds because your body will be in ketosis in the morning until you eat or drink something in the afternoon.

One way to do intermittent fasting is by only drinking water or black coffee when you wake up. If you want to do an even more intense version of intermittent fasting, then don't even drink water (called intermittent dry fasting - which is what I do sometimes). As crazy as this sounds, the body, when in a fasted and mildly dehydrated state, will begin a process called autophagy whereby it begins healing all kinds of physical ailments and replacing dead or sick cells in the body with fresh, new ones. The autophagy process not only leads to increased energy and vitality, but the extra time you'll have in the morning from not having to make and eat breakfast means either more sleep or more time to work on goals.

4. Pick one specific goal to focus on for the next month - 40% Performance Boost

Most of us either just drift through life unsure of what we want or we set huge goals that feel impossible to achieve. If, instead, you just choose a simple, one month goal that you are absolutely committed to achieving, you'll get. excited and start moving towards it, which will build many positive habits including productivity, less procrastination, and less laziness.

So pick one goal that will inspire you and you think is achievable, and then write down a list of action steps that you can start taking to achieve it. After a month, you'll reach your goal and then you'll unconsciously feel inspired to set another because of the success and sense of accomplishment you'll have felt.

5. Abstain from all sexual activity for 2 weeks at a time - 75% Performance Boost

This is another HUGE one. It might seem a bit odd, but more and more research is now coming out on the health benefits of abstaining from sexual activity for weeks at a time. A general rule of thumb is that one should only engage in sexual intercourse or masturbation once every two weeks at most. Doing this allows the brain to reset it's dopamine sensitivity (think of it as a happiness measure), which will lead to much more enjoyment of regular, day to day activities and decreased feelings of loneliness, depression, and lethargy.

Additionally, because your brain is looking to get more dopamine, you'll start to unconsciously seek out ways to achieve goals that will lead to more dopamine release - this means more motivation, passion for life, and drive. Another enormous benefit specifically for men is related to semen retention, which leads to increased testosterone levels which means more strength, confidence, energy, and libido.

6. Change your food and take supplements - 60% Performance Boost

As you're probably aware, these days food isn't very healthy and it's really hard to get the proper nutrition, even if all we eat is vegetables every day. This is because since there are so many people, farmers overuse the land to make more food and the nutrients get depleted from the soil, which means most of the foods we eat won't give our bodies the proper nutrition. On top of that, there are tons of chemicals in foods which the body needs to get rid of. Because we're taking in chemicals faster than we can excrete them, the body needs a place to store the chemicals that is far away from it's internal organs, and that place is fat.

​In order to buffer itself for harmful chemicals, the body stores extra fat and puts the chemicals in it. And because we're not getting the proper nutrients from our normal foods, it's a double whammy and we're getting fatter and sicker every day.

I know you have heard that you should change your diet, and it sounds like a huge task. But just try doing this to keep it simple; it will make a huge difference:

Stop eating processed foods as much as possible. This means fast food, microwave food, and packaged snacks like chips, etc. Replace them with something more natural.

Take the following supplements: multivitamin, vitamin D (5000 IU), green tea extract, fish oil, and turmeric. These supplements should give your body all it needs to start repairing itself and becoming more healthy.

If you just make these two changes, everything else will start falling into place. And don't worry, the supplements are pretty cheap and can be bought online.

7. Carpe Diem - 40% Performance Boost

Ever watch Dead Poets Society? It's a great movie and it focuses on the idea of "Carpe Diem," or "Sieze the Day." Aim to do things that scare you but that you really want to do at least a few times per month, or once a week if you can (or once a few times per day if you're crazy like me). In the book The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield, he talks about a time when he was given a yellow notebook at a conference, and the speaker said to everyone, "In front of you is a notebook. If you don't like the color of your notebook, feel free to trade with someone who has a color you want, because you deserve to have everything in your life exactly the way you want it." This experience changed Jack's life.

The whole idea is that through social conditioning, we've learned to suppress our own desires and put other's needs before our own, and this is unfortunately counter intuitive to what is good for us and others. The more we recognize our preferences and take action towards them, the better our own lives will be, which will allow us to help and inspire others to do the same. At least once a week, think to yourself, "If there was really something I wanted to do right now, just for me, what would it be?" And force yourself to come up with an answer, and then do it, spur of the moment. Don't plan it, just do it! This one habit alone can change your life.

8. Enjoy embarrassment - 40% Performance Boost

Embarrassment is one of the biggest things that stops us from pursuing the life we've always wanted. The fear of rejection by others causes us to take fewer risks and it keeps us in our own, self-defined prisons. The truth is that we are not free and we have no free will until we get over our fear of embarrassment and stop defining our own self-worth by how we are viewed by others.

I have redefined my own belief structure so that, instead of thinking I am worse if someone thinks less of me, I think I am amazing when others think less of me. The truth is, if people think less of you for doing something, you are probably doing something you need to do. I know this sounds crazy and counter intuitive, and it's a bit challenging to explain, but if you're interested in learning more about this principle and finding out why I believe it, simply email me at martin@cityheadshots.com, and I will give you a free coaching session where we explore this and change your thinking so you can break through this crippling behavior.

9. Budget to give - 30% Performance Boost

If you haven't heard of how important giving is in order to gain, you've missed out. Probably one of the greatest things you can do to help yourself move towards success is to give to others, especially those in need.

Sometimes it can feel difficult to reach into your pocket and pull out a $10 or $20 bill to give to a homeless person, or you don't want to buy a dinner for someone who needs it because you feel you need to keep the money for yourself. So instead of just randomly giving out money when it's required, download a free budget app for your smartphone and pick a monthly amount that you're willing to give away. Let's say you're OK with giving away $50 per month. Set the budget app so every month it adds $50 into your budget. Then it will track and if someone asks you for money, you'll know the money is there and you've budgeted for it and you'll be ok giving it.

The wonderful feeling you'll experience when you help someone in need will help your brain link that having more to give is awesome, and you'll unconsciously start doing things that will move you towards having even more abundance so you can give even more.

10. Lift compound, heavy weights - 30% Performance Boost

This is for both men AND women. I saved this one for last because although it's extremely important, most people still feel it's a challenge to go to the gym and they don't want to take action on that. Truthfully, this one is just as important as the others in the list, but if you don't want to do it just yet, it's OK. If you do wind up doing this though, it will increase energy and muscle mass, burn fat, and allow your body to heal itself because your lymph system will become more effective (the lymph system is like the body's sewage system).

Anyway, I strongly recommend following a routine of four key exercises at least three times a week. These exercises are, in order: squat, bench press, military press, and deadlift. Both men and women should do these exercises and follow a rep range of 4-6, meaning if you're able to do six reps (with proper form), you should increase the weight by ten pounds, adding 5 lbs to each side. If you can't get four reps, you should decrease the weight by five pounds, meaning remove 2.5 lbs from each side.

Simply do each of the four exercises for three sets, with a light warmup set of 10 reps at 70% of the normal weight you would lift before beginning each exercise. If you want to follow the most effective workout routine I have ever found, check out this book: Bigger, Leaner, Stronger.

Note: Be sure to follow proper form and do your research before attempting these lifts. You can ask most personal trainers and view videos online to learn how to do them properly so you don't injure yourself.

BONUS: Get a coach (for free?). - 500% Performance Boost (combining all the above and more)

Writing an article like this means I'd be doing a disservice to you if I didn't suggest hiring someone who could help you make it all happen. Studies have shown that people with coaches are much more likely to follow through because they have someone holding them accountable and making sure they reach their goals. Additionally, because a coach can see your life from another perspective (kind of like how a coach on a basketball team can see everything happening on the court, even what’s going on behind and around a player), he or she is able to give you feedback that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to see because you’re in your own head.

Regardless of whether you hire me or someone else, having a coach with deep knowledge of what works and what doesn’t will truly help you take your life to the next level. I offer a completely free coaching session without any selling or uncomfortable moments just because I enjoy helping people. If you’re interested in having a quick phone call with me to figure out how you can most efficiently reach your next goal, click the button below to send me an email and we can discuss.